Andrew Bird Brings Sound Sculpture Installation to Guggenheim Museum

Whistling indie star Andrew Bird has teamed up with sculptor and inventor Ian Schneller on a sound sculpture called "Sonic Arboretum", which will come to New York's Guggenheim Museum on August 5. Schneller, formerly of the 80s experimental indie band Shrimp Boat, has built an army of various-sized horn speakers shaped like old-fashioned Victrolas, which will be arranged into an "ecosystem" on the Guggenheim's rotunda floor.

If you've seen Andrew Bird play live, you've probably seen Schneller's work in action, as Bird usually performs using his horns. You can see a few images of Bird and Schneller among the horns on this website.

On August 5, Bird will perform in the sound sculpture, using the forest of horns to project his music. It's part of the Guggenheim's Dark Sounds Concert Series, which also includes a show from Beirut on July 15 and one from Cinematic Orchestra on September 3. Dark Sounds is in conjunction with the exhibition "Haunted: Contemporary Photography/Video/Performance", which runs at the famed museum until September 6.

In a press release, Bird explains "Sonic Arboretum" as sounding like "The din of many voices. When the mind focuses on a single voice, it is forced to track its trajectory. When there are too many to process it submits, but never fully relaxes. Echolocation is always engaged. Dozens of horns, a sonic field of poppies, an experiment of sound and sculpture."